


R is for...

by ArielAquarial



Series: Family of Three [18]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Castiel is Claire Novak's Parent, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Fluff, Kid Claire Novak, M/M, Missouri owns an antique shop, Shopping, antiques
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 07:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20287897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArielAquarial/pseuds/ArielAquarial
Summary: The shop they stopped in front of was just as pretentious as he imagined, with its stylized sign and large display window. He peeked into the store and saw a room crammed with furniture and glass cases, any wall space was covered with paintings and old clocks.“Really?” Dean asked his brother, gesturing to the store-front. "This place is my worst nightmare."“Just go in.”Or,With Sam in tow, Dean sets off on the ultimate quest...





	R is for...

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been working on an AU separate from this series, and got a whole 20k+ words into it…but then got stuck. Frustrated, I decided to come back to this series, and I’m honestly shocked that it was so easy to jump right back into things. This stuff just writes itself!
> 
> One day I’ll post something else…maybe…I’m sure anyone that had gotten this var into the Fo3 verse isn't complaining.

“Don’t worry!” He yelled behind him. Claire clung to his hand, giggling as she attempted to pull him back into the house. Her efforts to keep him home were cute but extremely ineffective. “We’ll just be a few hours.”

Cas rounded the hallway and walked towards him, Claire’s abandoned socks in hand. “Tell Sam I said hello, will you?”

Dean grinned. “Of course, babe.”

With a nod, Cas leaned in to give him a kiss and grabbed Claire so Dean could make his escape. “Stop, Claire. If you want to go to the park, then you have to have your shoes on.”

“Wait! I want ta go to da park!” Claire yelled, finally sensing that Dean was going to be leaving whether she wanted him to or not. “But I didn’t get my hugs and kisses!”

“I can’t believe I almost forgot!” He smiled and leaned down to scoop her up. Dean puffed up his cheeks and leaned in for his kiss. With a giggle, she pushed him away, knowing what was coming, but he was too strong. As soon as his lips made contact with her cheek, he let out the biggest and wettest raspberry he could muster. She shrieked in laughter and redoubled her effort to push him away. “Want another one?”

“No! Dats gross!” she wiped at her cheek and made a noise of disgust.

He winked at Cas and put her down. “Daddy’s turn?”

“Daddy’s turn! Daddy’s turn!” She chanted, her hands clapping in eagerness.

Cas folded his arms across his chest and attempted to look stern. “I’ll take a normal kiss, please.”

Dean grinned at Claire and advanced on Cas, his cheeks already puffed full of air.

“Dean.” He warned. “Don’t.”

Quick as a snake, he shot forward and grabbed Cas, going straight for the neck. His boyfriend tensed and tried to push Dean away, but it was too late. Dean sealed his lips around the crook of Cas’s neck and blew, producing a comically loud fart noise. The sound that left Cas’s mouth was a mix of surprise and disgust, and Dean had to stop because he was laughing so hard. “Got him!”

Claire laughed and ran back inside the house, hoping that one of them would chase her.

As soon as Claire was gone, Cas turned a glare to Dean. “Real mature, Dean.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Claire told me to do it.”

Cas huffed. “Claire’s the boss, now?”

Dean nodded. “Yes. I take orders all my orders from five-year-olds.

Cas lips tilted up in a small smile. “You better get going or else you’ll be late for your lunch.”

Dean looked at his watch and pursed his lips. “Sam’ll be fine.”

“Dean.” He admonished. “Go. Enjoy your time with your brother. It’s not often that both of you have the time to spend together.”

Dean sighed in exasperation. “Ok. But I’m not leaving without a kiss.”

Cas took a moment to mull it over, but the quirk of his lips gave him away. “I suppose that’s fine.”

Their lips met in full view of their neighbors, but Dean had long ago stopped caring what anyone thought of his PDA. It was hard to be with someone like Cas and _not _want to make out with the man constantly, no matter where they were. Having known Cas for almost a decade, most of his neighborhood was just glad the man was settling down, and one neighbor, in particular, had cornered Dean and asked him when he was going to make an honest man out of Cas. He was working on it, he wanted to tell the elderly woman. Of course, he kept his mouth shut and shrugged it off.

Dean pulled away reluctantly and turned to leave. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Cas gave his cheek one last stroke. “Take your time.”

A pang of guilt hit Dean right in the chest. “Sure, babe.”

In his car, Dean stared at the closed front door. He hated lying to Cas, but Cas couldn’t find out his real plans for the day. Besides, he _was_ going to be with Sam for a few hours…they were just going to do a lot more than have lunch together.

By the time Dean made it to Sams house, the man was already waiting impatiently on his porch.

“Get in, bitch!”

Sam rolled his eyes and approached the door, muttering to himself. Once the door was shut and he was buckled in, he turned to Dean. “You’re late.”

Dean shrugged and backed out of Sam’s driveway. “The little monster didn’t want me to go.”

He nodded in understanding. “Emma is all about Jess right now, I don’t even think she noticed I left. She doesn’t even want me to read her bedtime book, anymore.”

Dean laughed. “What can I say? Kids love me.”

Sam ignored him. “Can we stop for some coffee, first? I have a feeling I’m going to need some caffeine to survive the next few hours.”

With a frown, Dean reached over and smacked his brother. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Sam whacked him in return, bitch face firmly in place. “You can’t even decide what to eat for breakfast. I have a feeling this will be a long day.”

“You don’t have to come, you know. I can do this without you.” He reminded his brother. “I don’t need you.”

Sam smirked. “You _can_ do this without me, but you don’t want to.”

Dean grumbled obscenities to himself. “Whatever.”

Sam smiled smugly. “We’ll find something.”

“I know.” He sighed. “I’m just…”

“Stressed?” Sam asked.

Dean grunted his acquiescence.

Sam stared out the window, pointedly not looking at his brother. “Don’t be.”

Dean cleared his throat and gripped the steering wheel. “I know.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence and didn’t talk until they both sat down at Ellen’s bar. Dean ordered his usual double bacon cheeseburger with fries, and Sam got a club sandwich with avocado and a side salad.

“So.” Sam started. “What's the game plan?”

Dean pointed a french fry at his brother, his face the picture of determination. “Get the thing.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Oh, god. You can't even say it?”

“Shut up.”

“Where are we getting ‘the thing’?”

“Was planning on googling it.”

Sam’s face showed his displeasure, but he pushed forward without comment. “Generic? Unique?”

That made Dean pause. “Unique?”

“Charlie would know where to go.”

“No. Only you can know. Charlie can’t keep a secret to save her life.”

Sam huffed out a laugh. “Remember when she told me about Rhonda?”

Dean threw the fry at his brother, hitting him squarely on the forehead. “Shut your piehole.”

Sam picked up the fry and lobbed it back at his brother, but missed. “You’re such a child.”

He folded his arms across his chest and waited for Sam to finish his food. “Cant tell Charlie. Her and Cas are best friends, apparently.”

“Awe. Are you jealous.”

“Can you just fucking eat your sandwich?”

Sam took a large bite out of his sandwich and smiled. “You are totally jealous.”

“I am _not_.” he defended. “I’m happy Charlie is friends with Cas.”

“Uh-huh…”

“She’s over all the time. It’s awesome.”

“Uh-huh.”

“It's fine.”

“Let me guess. They lock themselves in the office and sew all day?”

Dean remained silent.

“You never complained about her sewing before.”

“It’s her job, Sammy.”

“Yeah, and now she can do it with Cas.”

He stood up. “I’m gonna get the bill.”

“You _are_ jealous!” Sam yelled at his retreating back.

Dean ignored him and hunted down their waitress so he could pay their bill. Once he was done, he collected Sam and they got in the car.

“So…”

“So.” Sam repeated.

“Should I just google it?”

“When I did it, I just walked into the nearest jeweler. I already knew what Jess wanted.” He pursed his lips in displeasure. “I was prepared.”

“She just told you?”

“We had been talking about getting engaged and she told me what she wanted and her ring size, the only surprise was _when _I’d ask.”

Nausea was creeping in. “Oh god…I’m going to have to ask him to marry me, aren’t I?”

Sam laughed at him. “You might.”

“Shit.”

“You’ll be fine. You know Cas will say yes.” Sam clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s figure out where we’re going to go. We have to be back in an hour and a half.”

“Well, first I was gonna try and get him some kind of historical ring. Some 18th-century reproduction, or something, but apparently men didn’t start wearing wedding rings until the 20th century…”

Sam laughed. “Wow, you actually researched this.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Dean growled in embarrassment.

“Sorry!” He held his hands up in defense. “Continue.”

“So that’s out. And then I tried to think of some of his other hobbies, but I couldn’t think of anything that wasn’t stupid. I know he’s not going to want something with diamonds and he’s not going to want something too big…”

“Ok. What else?” Sam prodded.

“Uh, I was thinking something vintage? Kinda rustic looking?”

Sam nodded his approval. “That’s a start. Should we go antiquing? There are a lot of good places downtown.”

“Antiquing.” He mocked. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“Dean…” he sighed. “If you want an antique ring, you’re going to have to go to an antique store.”

“Maybe I should think of something else, then.”

Sam laughed out loud at this. “Come on, Dean. Do it for Cas.”

“Fuck…” he mumbled. “Ok, but you better not tell anyone.”

He mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key. “My lips are sealed.”

Dean started the car and let Sam direct him to his favorite antique shop. Just the fact that Sammy had a favorite antique shop was enough fuel to make fun of him for weeks. The shop they stopped in front of was just as pretentious as he imagined, with its stylized sign and large display window. He peeked into the store and saw a room crammed with furniture and glass cases, any wall space was covered with paintings and old clocks.

“Really?” He asked his brother, gesturing to the store-front.

“Just go in.”

Dean groaned but opened the door, a tiny bell signaling their entrance. Thankfully, the place was larger than it looked from the outside because he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to handle being crammed into a crowded shop. Sam grabbed Dean’s shoulder and dragged him to the front, right where a glass display case was situated next to the register.

“Samuel?” Came a voice from somewhere in the back. “Is that you?”

Sam’s face lit up in a smile. “I’m here with my brother!”

A woman walked out of the back of the shop, her curly hair bouncing with every step. Her no-nonsense expression immediately put Dean at ease. If anyone could help him, Dean was sure that it would be this woman.

She smiled. “Well, if it isn’t the famous Dean Winchester. I’m Missouri, honey, and I have just what you need.”

Dean glanced at his brother in surprise. There was no way Sam could have given the lady a heads up. “Oh, well…great.”

“Come over here and look at these rings, honey, and we’ll see if we can find something for that handsome man of yours.” He walked up to the case and was immediately overwhelmed by the number of rings. “Most of these are estate pieces.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Dead man jewelry?”

She gave him a look. “What do you think antiques are?”

“Right.” He glanced at the rings and frowned. Most of them were large and had colorful stones in them. Nothing that Cas would want to wear on a daily basis. Dean glanced to his brother for help, but he had already abandoned Dean in favor of examining a wooden rocking chair that was situated in the front of the shop. “Well, I- uh…”

“Oh, honey. You’re a bit lost, aren’t you?”

He nodded.

“Why don’t you tell me about your man, then.”

Glancing once more at his brother, he leaned in and gave the woman a smile. “Cas is awesome. He has this kid, Claire, and she’s amazing. Smart and nice, always making new friends and helping other kids out in pre-k. Cas did really good with her. He’s a professor and teaches history to annoying college students.” Dean smiled to himself as he thought of all the entertaining stories Cas come’s home with. “He’s super smart, way out of my league. He has a Ph.D., and I barely passed high school.”

She nodded. “What else?”

He blushed, not prepared to lay it all out for a stranger. “He’s super patient and funny in a sarcastic way- hell, most people don’t even realize he’s telling a joke, he so subtle. Me though? I think he’s fu-freaking hilarious. Um…he always says thank you when I fix things? He’s not handy so I fix things around the house for him and he always lets me know he appreciates it. I dated this one girl and I’d always do that kind of shit for her and she never even acknowledged it. Pissed me off and made me want to tell her to do it herself. Anyways, I love everything about that guy…his laugh, the ways his eyes light up when he talks about boring history stuff, the way he can’t cook worth a shi-damn but still tries-”

Sam snorted next to him. “It’s a good thing you can cook, then.”

Dean clammed up immediately in embarrassment. Spilling his heart to a kind older woman was one thing, doing it with his brother within hearing distance was another thing altogether. “Yeah, so…”

Missouri smiled at him. “That’s great, honey. I think I have what you need.”

Eyebrows almost in his hairline, he glanced once more at the glass case, seeing nothing that caught his eye. “I don’t know…”

“Not, here. I have something new in the back that you might link to see.”

“Oh…” he smirked up at the woman. “So a _freshly_ dead guy, then.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him and he looked down, vowing to keep his big mouth shut. “This belonged to a good man, Dean Winchester. Now, you stay here with Samuel, and I’ll be right back.”

As soon as she was done, Sam turned on him. “Isn’t she wonderful?”

Dean shrugged. “She’s nice.”

Sam chuckled. “If she says she has something for you, she does. Trust me. I never leave this place without buying something.”

“So, she’s a good saleswoman.”

“No, Dean, and don’t let her hear you say that.” He warned, glancing towards the back room. “It’s like she knows your coming, and what you need. It’s kind of freaky.”

“You better be saying nice things about me, you two.” She warned, appearing in front of them suddenly.

Dean gave her an apologetic grin. “I would _never_.”

Sam pointed somewhere behind himself. “I’m just going to…look over there.”

“Uh-huh.” She muttered. “Go take a look at that blue vase next to the bookshelf. Jessica would love it.”

He ambled off with a smirk, leaving them to business.

“Now, dear. Let me show you something.”

Dean watched as she handed him a black velvet box, taking it gently but with nervous trepidation, he opened it. The first thing he noticed was that the band was gold. Originally, he pictured Cas with a silver band, but that was when he was still considering something more modern. The gold, on the other hand, was nice. Really nice. It would look amazing, as a matter of fact, against Cas’s tan fingers.

“Pick it up,” she suggested. “It's his size, I promise.”

He glanced up at her. “And how do you know that?”

She smiled at him. “A good guess.”

He squinted at her but did as he was told and picked up the ring. It had a subtle filigree design that wrapped around the entire band. The beauty of it would escape your notice of you weren’t looking at it too carefully, and it was that exact subtlety that made him smile since Cas was the opposite of flashy. The borders were smooth and perfectly polished to a near-perfect shine. “This is…”

“I know.”

“Perfect.” He looked her up and down. “You’re good.”

She just shrugged.

He let the ring rest in his palm and examined it a bit more. “You think he’ll like the gold?”

She nodded. “He’ll love it.”

Dean sighed. “I think so too. God, I was so worried I’d have to go to another antique store.”

“What do you have against antique stores, young man?”

Uh-oh. “Absolutely nothing. This place is great.”

“Yes, it is.” She confirmed with narrowed eyes.

Thankfully, Sam interrupted them. “You were right.” He held up the blue glass vase. “Jessica’s gonna love this.”

Missouri smiled at him. “Get some flowers for her on the way home.”

“Great idea.”

She rung him up at the register, leaving Dean to carefully slip the ring back into the box.

Sam turned to Dean, a shopping bag with a carefully wrapped vase cradled within. “So, now that you have the ring, how are you going to ask?”

He placed the ring box in Missouri’s outstretched hand so she could ring it up. “Haven't figured that out yet.”

“Don’t think too much about it, you’ll just freak yourself out.”

Dean sighed and put his card chip in the reader, giving Missouri an annoyed smile. “Then stop bugging me about it.”

“Leave your brother alone.” She cut in, scolding Sam. “Everything will be perfect, I know it.”

Dean turned on his brother. “See? Everything will be fine. Mind your business.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “You’ll let me know when you’re going to do it, right?”

Dean smirked at him and then turned away, ignoring him in favor of taking the ring back from Missouri. “Thanks for this.”

“You’re welcome, honey. Don’t be a stranger.”

Outside of the shop, Sammy spoke up again. “So, you _are_ going to tell me, right?”

He unlocked the car so they could get in. “Tell you what?”

Sam sighed. “Dean.”

He just shrugged. “No clue what you’re talking about.”

“You better tell me.” Sam threatened. “If you don’t, I might let it slip to mom.”

Dean, who had been slowly backing out of his parking spot, slammed on the breaks. “If you do that, you won't be invited to the wedding.”

They stared at each other, both trying to outglare the other until sam looked away with a sigh. “Fine. I wouldn’t even do that to my worst enemy.”

“Good.”

Sam gave him a funny look. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much about mom, though. She’ll be pretty distracted once we tell her Jessica’s pregnant.”

Dean nodded. If Jessica was pregnant, then getting engaged around the same time would be good for both of them. Her attention would be split, and-

Dean froze, his heart pumping in his chest. “Jessica’s what?!”

Sam smiled as he watched Dean digest what he had just told him. “She’s 10 weeks.”

“Holy shit!” Dean pulled back into the spot and roughly threw baby into park. Not even bothering to turn the engine off, he unbuckled and threw himself at his brother in a tight hug. “Holy shit!”

Sam laughed and returned the hug. “I know. That was my exact reaction.”

“Holy shit.” He repeated, unable to say anything more. “Little Sammy’s going to be a dad.”

Sam pushed him away and gave him a bright smile. “I’m already a dad.”

Dean punched him in the shoulder. “Shut the fuck up, bitch. You know what I mean.”

Sam punched him back. “I know, jerk.”

Unable to wipe his smile from his face, he put the car back in reverse and began the short drive home. “You gonna name him Dean?”

Sam snorted. “Hell no. Besides, Jess thinks it’s another girl.”

Dean let out a long groan. “God, I hope not. We need some boys in this family. We’re being overrun with girls…”

“You say that, but you love Claire and Emma.”

“Duh.” He muttered. “But it would be awesome if you had a boy.”

Sammy nodded happily. “I’ll be happy with whatever, but another girl would be convenient. We could just reuse everything.”

“When are you telling mom?” He asked.

“Couple of weeks?” he ventured. “I’m not sure. Usually, people wait until 12 weeks, but we haven’t really talked about it.”

“No way!” He practically yelled. “That would mean I have to propose in two weeks, maybe three. There's no way that’s gonna happen.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “We’re not waiting just because you’re too scared to propose. If I can tell mom, so can you.”

“I’m not scared.” He grumbled. “I just want it to be perfect…these things take time.”

“Not _that_ much time.” Sam shot back. “Just do it.”

“No way, I gotta do it right. Plan it.”

Sam snorted. “Ok. You do that, then. We can’t hold off forever.”

“Just let me know when your planning on telling her, ok?” he begged. “I need a weeks notice. More, if you can swing it. There's no way we’re not doing this at the same time. She’ll flip her shit.”

Sam grinned. “Definitely. She won't know what to do with herself, so hopefully, she’ll leave us _both_ alone.”

Dean drove back to Sam’s place and they both went in. There was no way he _wasn’t _going to be giving Jess a big hug and a hearty congratulations. It would make him get back home a little late, but once he was told the great news, Cas would understand why.

“Did daddy tell you?” Emma asked as soon as he walked into their front room. “I gonna be a sister!”

“You’re going to be such a good big sister!” he told her as soon as he scooped her up in his arms.

Jess followed Emma and gave Dean a warm hug. “Well, if he didn’t tell you yet, then surprise!”

Dean chuckled. “Oh, he told me, alright. I can’t wait to meet him!”

“Or her.” She corrected. “Its another girl, I can feel it.”

Dean looked pointedly at her flat stomach. “Don’t listen to her.”

She huffed. “We’ll find out in about 8 more weeks.”

“Good, that’s enough time to set up a nice betting pool.”

Jess glared at him. “Just for that, we’ll wait until the baby is born.”

Sam sucked in a breath. “Look what you’ve done!” he turned to his wife and pulled her into a hug. “Don’t listen to him, there will be no betting pool. I promise. Let's just find out at 18 weeks just like we did with Emma.”

She shrugged, giving Sam a look. “We’ll talk.”

“And that’s my cue to leave.” He batted his brother out of the way and drew Jess into a tight hug. “Seriously, congratulations.”

She smiled back at him. “Thanks, Dean.”

Once he was finally able to detangle himself from Emma’s koala grip, he climbed into his car and made his way back home, thinking the entire time about what it would be like to have a second child. It sounded like a lot of work, but Jess and Sam were clearly excited. What would Cas think, he wondered, about adding to their family?

He shook the thought out of his head. He couldn’t even think about bringing up adding to their family until they were at least engaged. To make it impossible to think, he cranked up his radio and let the guitar riffs of Led Zepplin soothe his nerves.

At home, Cas and Claire were sitting at the dining table, fingerpainting sheets of computer paper. The blue-haired mutant- “Its Daddy!” she supplied- stared up at him from the page. He smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Yeah. Maybe another rugrat wouldn’t be too bad after all…

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to those who leave comments! You guys are the best!


End file.
